Day 57: Black Music Month - Robert Glasper

Robert Glasper is a multitalented jazz pianist, composer, producer, and musical director. Though he may immediately be identified as a jazz artist, it’s hard to deny the heavy influence of Hip-Hop and R&B/Soul on his music. He has an ingenious style that has reinvigorated jazz music in ways that very of his contemporaries have been able to. His most recent album, with his band The Robert Glasper Experiment, is entitled “Black Radio” (2012). On this release, Glasper more than proves he’s an artists without limits. The album features smooth, eclectic collaborations with Lalah Hathaway, Musiq Soulchild, Chrisette Michele, Bilal, Lupe Fiasco, Erykah Badu, Ledisi, Shafiq Husayn (Sa-Ra), KING, Meshell Ndegeocello, Stokley Williams (of Mint Condition) and yasiin bey (Mos Def) to name a few. As described on Glasper’s website, Black Radio “boldly stakes out new musical territory and transcends any notion of genre, drawing from jazz, hip-hop, R&B and rock, but refusing to be pinned down by any one tag.” Black Radio is a groundbreaking album that may serve as the blueprint for other artists who want to make great music that challenges the notion of genres and categorization yet resonates deeply with the audience.